


The first of many birthdays

by PinkLotus (EspurrsVena)



Series: Birthday Series [8]
Category: JO1 (Japan Band)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Sho centric, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a little ynrk, he gets spoiled for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:54:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27176833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspurrsVena/pseuds/PinkLotus
Summary: For Sho's birthday, the members decided to spoil him for once!
Series: Birthday Series [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698286
Kudos: 16





	The first of many birthdays

Looking back in what had changed since his last birthday, Sho was still unable to believe that everything had happened for real. A year ago, he had been in the middle of the audition and while he had worked hard on making his dream come true, mentally he had tried keep his expectations low. He was surrounded by so many amazing people and each of them deserved the debut equally. That he would end up as one of the chosen ones had been a bittersweet surprise. However, the 10 guys that he spent every day since that fateful night and the fact that all of his friends found a way to make their dreams come true, too, gradually eased the initial bitter aftertaste of his victory. 

Last year he couldn’t enjoy his birthday much. They had just finished shooting the group battle and the concept battle was coming up. He was in a somewhat comfortable position back then, yet just like everyone else, his anxiety level was high which made it hard to enjoy the even the simple things in life. Thus, for this year, he decided to do nothing but relaxing things on his special day. 

It was still a month until his group would release their first album and while the promotion schedules gradually increased, his birthday remained free of schedules – a surprise of which he was glad about. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy the various works that they were able to do. They meant a steady income and secured their popularity, but off days were equally important. That he got one on his birthday, felt like a gift from their management. 

Hence, he started the day without being woken up by an alarm clock. In the last year, the days when he had been able to do that were less than the songs his group had released so far which made it feel good and strange at the same time. In some way he felt like he was wasting time but it was his free day which was meant to be a day when he could do nothing at all. 

However, his stomach signalised him that he had to do at least one thing - making breakfast. Yet when he entered the small kitchen, he found a freshly prepared French toast waiting for him. It was a pleasant surprise and judging from the amount of fruits that decorated the dish, he assumed it was made by Ren – who wasn’t seen anymore. A card next to the dish eventually confirmed this idea. 

After taking the breakfast back to his room, Sho checked the inbox of his phone which overflowed with birthday greetings from various people. Never he had gotten some many well wishes before which was surely one of the perks of being a celebrity now. Still, more than those messages he enjoyed the meal made by his group member. It was a rare occurrence that someone prepared a meal for him; maybe it had been his mother who was the last person to do so. In fac he didn’t mind to be the one to prepare food for the important people in his life, yet that the favour was returned once, felt nice. 

Not sure about the plans of the dance leader for that day, Sho called him to tell him his thanks for the gift, but Ren just told him he deserved that and hinted more surprises coming. It seemed like the whole group had decided to spoil him for once on this day. It made him excited and worried at the same time. Some of the kids couldn’t be trusted without supervision. 

At the same time, he didn’t know who and what surprise would be next. Each one of the members had a specific set of skills, thus he could imagine them doing certain things, yet everyone was good for a surprise, too. That Ren had made breakfast for him was somewhat obvious. But there was also Junki who was a good cook, so he wondered what the other one would do for him? Lunch? Or something completely different?   
Furthermore, there were members like Shion who simply sucked in anything domestic. He couldn’t imagine the boy cleaning his room or doing any other chores for him. 

Yet the next message that reached him was from their manager. Besides the day being an off day for them there was one schedule – the birthday video for the fans. When you are an idol, you just didn’t have your birthday all for yourself, but that was alright. Without the fans he wouldn’t be where he was on that day and he knew that they enjoyed seeing the bonds between the members. 

Each of those birthday videos showed how much the bonds have grown deeper and Sho felt a little proud about this. In their early days they have been chaotic and there was a lot of tension between some members and while the chaos stayed, the tension eased more day by day. They’ve grown into a family – with Sho as their mother in some way. The whole thing had started as a joke initially, but in some way the members seemed to need a person like that and if they wanted Sho to become that person, he would do that for them. Everyone needed to feel comfortable to make them last long as a group. 

To his surprise it was Keigo who came into his room next. The other tall member surprised Sho with some new home work out gear and offered to work out with him for a bit.   
Besides more and more things opening once again, they were still not allowed to visit any gyms unless it was for some schedule, so both of them had to work out at home. It was harder to motivate yourself, thus having a partner made it easier at least for Sho to stay in the routine. 

After they finished the work out, it was time for a bath and to Sho’s surprise, he found his one prepared already. Someone must have sneaked into his bath room during the work out and a card with a small gift – a bath bomb – revealed that the culprit had been Sukai. It wasn’t the first time he had done that for the leader and each time Sho was thankful for that.   
He threw the bath bomb into the hot water and the smell which started to fill the small room reminded him of his home in Okinawa. Thus, he also started a playlist of songs that reminded him of home while he let soak himself in the water. 

The next surprise waited for him when he got out of the bath and found his whole room and kitchen cleaned. A pack of cookies with a star shaped birthday card told him it had been Takumi’s work. Not that he had much to clean in Sho’s room anyway, his one was one of the cleaner ones in their dorm, but the gesture was sweet. 

He had eaten just one cookie when there was a knock on the door and one half of S4 entered his room without even waiting for a reply. “Happy Birthday”, yelled Shosei and Syoya in unison.   
“You are done with the bath, so get ready for part two of your wellness program.” Shosei said with a wide grin while Syoya started to remove various beauty items from his bag. 

“What are you going to do?” It looked interesting what the two have brought along, yet Sho was still sceptical about their plans.   
“We will give you an experience like a spa day. Just cheaper and at home.”, explained the shorter one of the two.   
“So, sit down and enjoy it.” 

Sho had barely sit down when Shosei placed himself behind him and started to massage his shoulders. Syoya meanwhile had decided on the products he wanted to use on the leader and started to apply the first cosmetic on his face before placing a face mask on it. 

Initially Sho was a little afraid when Shosei started – a small mistake could have some consequences. But Shosei seemed to know where to apply pressure and where not. “Where did you learn that?”   
“My sisters showed me some stuff and the rest I’ve learned from Youtube.”   
“There are even tutorials for that?”   
“Sho, there are tutorials for everything.”   
For the first time on this day, Sho actually felt old thanks to the exchange with the blonde one. 

In Syoya’s case he felt more save from the start. The shorter one was known to be their beauty expert and he seemed to know what he was doing speaking from his face. It was rare to see him that focused and not with his head in the clouds or whatever realm he usually was.   
After the mask was removed to his face Syoya applied some more creams and things Sho had no idea about. He tried to follow what the two younger ones were explaining to him but midway he gave up. 

As expected, the products Syoya had used on him were the other part of his birthday gift and Sho decided that he would google their function later. He didn’t want to leave the boys’ hard work in vain. However, shortly after the two left and before he could start the research another knock followed. Just like his previous visitors, that person also didn’t wait for him to reply. 

It was Junki with a bunch of ingredients for cooking. It seemed to be close to lunch time already, yet Sho hadn’t paid much attention to his watch so far.   
“Happy Birthday, Sho!” Typically Junki, his voice was loud enough to congratulate all Sho’s in a radius of 2 kilometre. “I’m in charge for your birthday meal, so continue to relax and leave it to me.”   
“Are you sure that you don’t want some help?” As much as Sho enjoyed all the surprises, doing nothing felt wrong. He wasn’t used to do that anymore.   
“Yes, I’m sure. Now get out of the kitchen.”   
“But it’s my kitchen.” Yet his friend kicked him out anyway. 

Having not anything better to do Sho started to reply all the birthday messages he got so far. More and more came in and he wondered how many would follow. A quick SNS check had showed him various fan projects already and he felt a little overwhelmed by all the love. His life had turned upside down in a little more than a year. Last year in summer he had been a struggling musician and now he was loved all over the world. Sometimes it felt unreal und undeserved. But here he was – getting that love from all over the world and from the people close to him and he did deserve it. 

He was only able to reply about half of the messages when Junki entered his room with the finished dish. To his surprise, his group member had made Goya Chanpuru for him. The leader didn’t even know that Junki could make this meal. “It’s only Goya from here, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.”   
“I’m sure I will. Thank you.”   
“Good. Well, see you later for the video.” Junki was about to leave but the leader stopped him.   
“Stay. You should enjoy what you’ve made, too.”   
“But it’s the turn for the next person soon.” 

“Are you still trying to make social distance happen? We will be stuck together in a few hours anyway.” While the disease was still going around, the rules had been softened recently. Earlier this year the birthdays of three of four S4 members and Issei’s one had to be officially celebrated with distance, but that rule had been abolished for Takumi’s birthday in June already. They were still advised to keep some distance and keep their groups small in private, but that didn’t really happen anyway. 

“Those words? From you? Are you really Sho or an imposer?”   
“I’m just stating the truth.”   
Ultimately, Junki agreed and got himself a share of the meal from the leftovers in the kitchen. Together they chatted about various topics and while once again the Goya wasn’t as bitter as Sho preferred it, tthe fact that his friend had made it for him made it one of the best Goya Chanpuru he ever ate. 

“So, who is next?”, Sho asked after they both finished eating. Junki had wanted to clean the kitchen all alone, too, yet this time the leader managed to convince him that he wanted to help him as a thank you for the meal.   
“The kids.” There weren’t many options left anyway. Shion, Issei and Ruki hadn’t surprised him yet and Junki’s hint told him that Shion and Issei were next. This also made him wonder about their surprises and Ruki’s one. Also, it seemed like everyone wanted to be done before they shot the video for the fans. 

After they finished cleaning the kitchen, Junki left and 5 minutes later Shion and Issei stood in his room with some badly wrapped presents. They looked pitiful and hilarious at the same time, yet it was the thought that mattered, so he took them with a smile.   
Issei’s gift were a new brand of coffee beans and he had written in his card “Beans from the Beans” which made Sho laugh and the boy grinning proudly about his pun.   
Shion on the other hand gifted him a new coffee cup which stated “Best single mom in the world”. It also made him laugh and hug both boys for their funny but also thoughtful gifts. 

Yet their visit didn’t end with handing over the gifts. Both of them wanted to stay and play some video games with Sho. There was still some time until their manager would arrive, so he agreed to it. At first, he wondered why they had suggested that – everyone knew how bad he was in video games compared to other members – but after the first two matches in Smash Brothers, it became obvious that their gift had a second part: letting him win in games for once. 

Unlike other members like Issei or Ren, Sho didn’t mind losing games that much and it was kind of cute to witness the conflict inside of their youngest to make Sho happy on the one hand and being frustrated that he had to keep losing. He was about to tell him that it was alright to play normally when their manager announced his arrival in the group chat and called everyone into the empty room of their dorm for the video. 

When he arrived with the two youngest members, everyone else had arrived already and the room was already decorated with various birthday decorations. After another chaotic “Happy Birthday” chant – will they ever learn the correct timing for that song? - a cake was presented to him and he blew out the candles.   
Last year, he had wished for his debut on his birthday. That wish had come true, so he hoped that the same would apply to his wish this year: that he would spend many happy days with the ten other guys who had made sure he had a wonderful day on his birthday. 

Luckily, Shion refrained from his traditional cake smash which seemed like another leader privilege, so Sho could taste the cake in a normal way. As always, their manager had brought a pretty and delicious cake and in Sho’s case it was a chocolate-expresso cake which also had some faint coconut taste. 

Together they celebrated while recording some footage for the fans and Sho didn’t mind the camera at all. He felt happy and content and he nearly forgot that one person’s surprise was missing until Ruki pulled him aside after their manager left.   
“Are you still full from the cake or are you ready for dinner?”, he was asked by the shorter one.   
“You are in charge of the dinner? Do you need help?” While Ruki’s cooking skills slowly improved, it was still dangerous to leave him unsupervised in the kitchen, thus the oldest member was worried. 

“No. I only need you to come with me. I’ve reserved a restaurant for us.” You could hear a small annoyance about Sho’s worry in Ruki’s voice in that moment.   
“Just the two of us?”   
“Yeah, I’m not sharing you with the brats and they would make it too expensive.”   
“You pay?”   
“Of course. It’s your birthday.” 

After thanking the members, he wasn’t able to thank in person for their gifts and surprises yet, he left with Ruki. The shorter one had called them a taxi which took them to the city and it stopped in front of an expensive looking restaurant. Ruki didn’t even let him pay the taxi and when they entered the restaurant the inside looked equally fancy as the outside. 

The turned out to be yakiniku restaurant with private rooms, so they could enjoy their meal without anyone seeing them. One check of the menu confirmed the expensive nature of the restaurant, but when he tried to complain, Ruki affirmed that he will pay and that Sho should just enjoy this day without thinking or worrying about anything. 

Still, there was one thing he was worried about. Normally, he was the one who grilled the meat for everyone and he wasn’t sure whether he could trust Ruki with hot coals. Yet once more Ruki insisted on doing everything for him today, so he tried to stay quiet as much as possible. But sometimes the years he had worked in yakiniku restaurants made him comment.   
“Eh... Ruki? I think you should turn the meat, so it can grill from the other side, too.” There was already a slight smell of burned meat in the air. 

“Sho, I can do it on my–” Ruki was about to protest, but when he did as asked, the meat had some dark spots already. “oh, wait you are right.”   
“You can listen to me. I only want to help.” Those clumsy moments of Ruki were the cutest. While he tried to make himself seem like a pro and a prince in public, the real Ruki was actually quite clumsy and cute and Sho enjoyed seeing this side of him much more.   
“I know, but I don’t want you to worry about anything today. You need a day off, too.”   
“Then you picked the wrong surprise. Seeing you with hot coals makes me worried.”   
“I guess I really picked the wrong thing. I’m sorry Sho. Next time I will choose something better.” 

Suddenly Ruki seemed sad and Sho couldn’t help but get up from his spot and go over to the other one to comfort him. “Hey, don’t be sad. I know you mean well and I’m really happy to be with you here. You picked the right surprise.”   
“But again, you are worried for me. It's your birthday. You shouldn’t worry about anything today. You need to relax, too.”   
“And I have a wonderful and relaxing birthday so far. And knowing that you won’t burn yourself would make me even more relaxed.” 

It was lovable how much Ruki was worried for him. Already since the day Sho was chosen as the leader of their group, the other one had always tried to take some weight of his shoulders. Sho knew he did that because of his own experience as the leader of his former group and the guilt he still carried because of their disbandment. Having another chance granted in life made him wanting to make sure it wouldn’t end the same. 

“I still suck in anything food related, don’t I?” Even after breaking the hug, Ruki seemed to enjoy be close to the leader, so he moved his stuff to his new place next to him.   
“You do, but I can see hope for you.” Ruki was the clumsiest cook out of the members still, but he had improved a bit recently. He was already able to make some simple dishes on his own and Sho was sure he could teach him the right amount of time the meat needed this night. “But we all have our flaws and that’s fine. That’s what makes us human.” 

“That means you are not human. You don’t have any flaws.”   
“I have some, too. Believe it or not.”   
“Yes, I don’t believe it.”   
“For example, I just burned the meat, too, because I rather make sure that my dearest prince is happy again.” The smell of burnt meat had become stronger, but in that moment Ruki was his priority. He didn’t like him to be sad, especially when it was his fault in some way. 

“Your flaw is being too nice, I get it.” They removed the meat from the grill and luckily after scratching off some of the burned parts, it was still eatable.   
For the next pieces he made sure to show Ruki the basics and eventually the younger one seemed to find the moment when the meat was done on his own. Seeing this made Sho happy. 

With a packed stomach and a big hole in Ruki’s wallet they left the restaurant. Once more Sho had protested that Ruki wanted to pay the expensive bill on his own, yet he had no chance. The brown haired one only agreed to share the taxi costs for their way back home because it ended up a little more expensive than he had expected. 

“Thank you for today. It was really the perfect end of this day.” It wasn’t just that he wanted to reassure the other one that he didn’t mind helping him earlier, but it was also the truth. The food had been delicious and their talk had been good, too. He couldn’t wish for more. It had made him unwind and that had been the goal of everyone, right?   
“So, you won’t sing in your room until 2am today?”   
“Do you want me to?”   
“No way, it’s your birthday and -” 

However, Ruki’s expression betrayed his words. Sho just knew him too well. While Ruki kept complaining about him singing in the night, he actually enjoyed it a lot and helped him to sleep. “Come with me, I’ll sing for you.”   
“But Sho.”   
“No buts. Let me thank you for the meal this way.” He took the younger one’s hand and took him to his room. 

In the end, Ruki fell asleep next to him way ahead of 2am. Not wanting to wake him up, Sho gently moved him to the side of the bed before making himself comfortable, too. However, once he turned the lights off and laid down, he became Ruki’s oversized stuffed animal. But it was okay, too. 

His birthday had been a wonderful one and seeing everyone enjoying to spoil him for once had been sweet, too. He didn’t mind to go back to being the one who spoiled his members from the next day on again. No matter if 10 guys needed their single mom or one guy needed him to be his oversized stuffed animal, he would be there for them. Their happiness was his happiness, too, and he hoped to spend many more birthdays with them.

**Author's Note:**

> Haisai!  
> Happy Birthday, Sho!  
> I'm surprised that I was able to finish it on time but in the end I was done much faster than I expected.  
> I hope you all like it!  
> See you~


End file.
